The road towards true love and immortality

The road towards true love and immortality {8}

The road towards true love and immortality 

{#8: The Library}

True's po.v.:

That night I dreamed of a pair of green eyes, that seduced me to follow them toward an old garden that looked lost and long forgotten to the world. It was a very strange dream. It looked like someone wanted to tell me something, but I missed the clue.

The next day went by in a blurb. English being boring, French becoming my favourite class, annoying science, a quiet lunch, old math, horrible history teacher and working out for gym. And all of it without Tauris! He didn't show up, but like April had said he was often excused. So I didn't thought about it much and when the last bell rang I run out of school and sped of toward home. Why so excited to get home? You're asking. Well because today I could go to the library of the duck! Finally after a week, a library, I think that was the longest time I ever went without.

"Ah miss Zacharel." An old man said and came over to me.

"Your highness." I greeted polite and offered him my hand.

"Well, well a kid who knows traditions, you don't see that offend today." The duke said sort of surprised and shook my hand.

"The advantage of spending most of my free time in the library." I answered with a shy smile.

"Well let me show you our library then. No use in spoiling time. If I am honest I have to admit that this is quiet an exception. If I'm not wrong, I think it's more than hundred years ago that someone els than the family used this library." The duke said.

"So I have heard and I feel really honoured, that I'm allowed." I said graceful.

"Our pleasure. Well then here we are." The duke said and opened a double door.

"Wow." I said amazed as I saw the huge room, no hall, filled with shells and hundreds of books.

"Our personal proud." The duke said and smiled when he saw my expression.

"Well it's certainly impressive. Are their books that I can't touch?" I asked.

"What do you mean?" the duke asked confused.

"Well books above a certain age are sort of fragile." I explained.

"Oh that, well don't worry about that, only the books behind the glasses are forbidden. My brother replaced every book above a certain age with copy's and placed the originals in our vaults." The duck explained.

"Your brother ... is that ... Tauris' father?" I asked not knowing how it was a proper question to ask.

"Yes, he was." The duke said with a sad voice.

"Sorry, I didn't meant to be indiscreet." I apolagised.

"No, it's nothing. He and his wife, Tauris' mother, died in a car crash when Tauris was five." The duke said and walked in.

"I'm really sorry." I said feeling sorry for Tauris.

"It's a long time ago. I think we have all sorts of books in here." The duke said and I understood that the subject was over.

"Really?" I asked excited about the library.

"Yes, sure. We have history, sciences - math, chemistry, physics, astrology... -, bibliographies, diaries, novels, poetry, theatre-plays, myths, legends ... Ah and our own personal heritage." He said as he walked trough the books and showed different shells. He stopped in front of a formation of shells that ware made against the walls of the tower. The books were stoked from the ground till the ceiling.

"My father, brother and his son collected all the books handling about this castle, this region." The duke said proud.

"Wow that must have cost some time." I said impressed.

"Yes, it's a sort of a hobby. That's were Tauris is now, he's searching a particular book, in Italy."

"Well I think I'll start reading here." I said and took a seat at the bench inside the tower window.

"Then I'll leave you. We have dinner at eight o'clock, so I would ask you to leave at seven thirty."

"Of course, but when I'm reading time becomes meaningless for me."

"I'll come by and escort you out personally." The duke said.

I nodded in agreement and looked at the shells. I saw a book that wasn't correctly storred and took it out.

"It looks like you found a book." The duke said.

"Yes, it wasn't stocked correctly." I answered.

"Well sometimes the book chooses the reader." He said and left me. So I started to read. The book was about an old legend.

The origin of the Lake-house.

It was sort of tragical, it was about a duke, many generations back, who felt in love wit a mermaid. She lived in the lake and sang for him every night. To be closer to her he built a huge mansion at the side of the Lake, the Lake-house. "Oh that's were we live." But cursed by their very nature they seemed doomed to be so close and jet so far apart. For the duke was but a mere human. And so he could never be with her, for he couldn't breath under water. And she was cursed by her very nature to not come on land.

At the same time a jealous, rejected woman came around. Scorned by the rejection she felt she paid a local witch to kill the mermaid. firmly believing that whit the mermaid gone the duke would give her a chance.The witch did what she was paid for, and spelled the mermaid. Spelled to swim to the caves of death, were a monster was waiting for her.

Dying of grief the duck threw himself into the lake and drowned. So he could be reunited with his true love in heavens. As for the jealous woman, she was cursed by the Gods to live in the dark waters of that very lake for the rest of her miserable life. 

And that winter the lake froze completely. It never did since. The elders say that it was an ode to the love, of the duck and the mermaid, by the ancient Gods.

 - - -

I hadn't noticed the fact that I was crying till someone offered me a handkerchief. I looked up and saw the duke. "It's time."

"Oh sorry I was really into the story. Is it true?" I asked. "The love part, I meen. I don't really believe there are things like mermaids.' 

The duke looked at the book and said: "Have you noticed the window above the entrance of the Lake-House?"

"Yes, it's a mermaid." I answered thinking about it.

"I think that's your answer." The duke said and smiled.

I smiled back and stood up to follow the duke to the door. "Thanks again." I said as I walked out, to my car. To ride home, toward a grate dream about an old garden.

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Hi,

Sorry it took me so long, but I was sort of sick and right now I don't know for sure, how to continue the story. So it might take a wile, but I promise that I'll try to upload as soon as possible. If I only had more time -sigh.

And thanks Novel19 for the support this chapter is for you :p

grts SnowAngel

I hope to write you guys soon